Chapter 2: Discoveries
Peter shot a web from his web shooter to his apartment window. It had been a long night and he was ready to retire. The parting of the symbiote had cost him a lot of energy—energy it had produced for him. He was starting to grow accustomed to being Spiderman with those enhancements, but he was glad to be "normal" Spiderman again.
At the same time, he was wondering about MJ. He hadn't seen her since prior to her cast call at the theater. He had faith that she was fine, though.
MJ woke up in her apartment, screaming from what seemed to be a dream. She had dreamt that on the way home from the last performance of The Importance of Being Earnest that she had been overtaken by some wild black force that forced its way onto her body. She frantically looked down over herself, finding only fleshy peach skin, a white t-shirt, and a pair of velvet pajama bottoms. But it was so real, she told herself. MJ laid back down and started to drift back to sleep, back to the serenity of the dream world. Slowly she found her way back. She would enjoy the rest of the night, her mind at ease and her body at peaceful rest.
Or so she thought. For at that moment, the symbiote forced itself over her body, covering every piece of skin from head to toe. From being bonded with Peter nearly to the point of permanence, the symbiote knew full well of the deep-seeded love that had been hidden but steadfast through her love affairs with Harry and John Jameson. Her sense of a true protector, a true provider, a true lover rested in Peter's hands. The symbiote insidiously kept MJ's mind asleep, placing her safely in the arms of her lover, Peter, as they drove down a mountainside highway in a convertible with the top down. In her mind, MJ sat in the candy apple red car, her hair waving in the wind, not a care on her mind. From time to time Peter would like over at her, smile, and with his facial expressions say "I love you" as if she could hear his voice whispering in her hear. Sometimes, for the fun of it, Peter would look over at and begin to ponder her beauty of physique and soul for longer periods of time. MJ would begin to get nervous, but Peter would reassure her with the fact that he had an uncanny sense of the future that would tell him if he were in any danger. So, they would never go over that cliff. And even in the rare chance that his Spider—Sense would fail, Peter was, after all, Spiderman; he could simply save himself, her, and the car on top of that, with little effort or strain.
Peter would eventually stop the car at a small overlook. Peter asked her, "How would you like to go for a ride?"
Confused, she answered, "But we just took a ride—and a breathtaking one at tha—" Before she could get her last word out, Peter swept MJ into his arms and took her on a ride across the cliffs.
Only minutes later Peter landed, telling MJ to hang tight as he reached for the trunk of the car. Taking out a blanket and basket, the two sat perched upon the overlook, sharing stories of plays, television shows, mad—scientists bent on world domination and quirky effects of genetic mutation as they sipped hot but not scalding hot chocolate with the night skyline of Paris in the distant background. As the sun began to set, Peter built a fire around which they both huddled to keep warm. A cool breeze came up, and Peter pulled a second blanket from the car. Peter crawled up to MJ's side as he pulled the blanket around the two of them. MJ gave out a mighty yawn and laid her head upon Peter's shoulder, slowly drifting away to a dream. Peter looked up from where they were cuddled around the into the Paris skyline, content with—
The symbiote, satisfied with the feigned feeling of security it had pulled around MJ's mind, took her now submissive body up to a stand. Looking over itself in a mirror, it saw the feebleness of the female host it employed. However, the symbiote knew its need for not just any host, but that specific host. Maintaining its stationary position, the symbiote gradually adapted itself to its smaller, weaker host. It knew it would have to be ready for the battles of body and mind that lay ahead. It sensed MJ was less capable physically but certainly the formidable foe mentally. She seemed even more mentally capable of insidiousness and conniving than Peter. She might make a good host after all.
Having made the necessary changes, the symbiote smiled at itself. Having just assumed a new host, it showed no sign of pointy teeth, razor claws, menacing eyes, or rippled muscles thus yet. It saw the same white spider emblem, the same white oval eyes, the same pitch blackness that had once enveloped Peter Parker as when it had when it had initially undertaken the daunting task of gradually gaining control over his mind. This was going to be a challenge, but be fun.
And with that, the symbiote, along with the present but oblivious MJ, liquefied into a black puddle and slipped under MJ's apartment door into the hallway. Noticing a small open window, the symbiote slid along the wall, flowed out the window tentacle by tenacle, and found a solid piece of brick wall. Slowly it formed back into the shape of its host. Letting out a menacing snarl, the symbiote shot a web from its host's wrists and leapt out into the city.